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The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has urged vice-chancellors of universities to align the training of young people with the country's priority development needs.
“Let our universities essentially focus on their primary mission and vision for the ultimate benefit of the nation,” he stressed.
He said President John Dramani Mahama was doing his best in terms of governance, including improvement in the governance of institutions of higher learning to effectively deliver on their mandate.
Mr Iddrisu made the remarks at a ceremony during which he inaugurated a newly constructed students’ hostel at the Kumasi campus of the Wisconsin International University College in Feyiase in the Bosomtwe District of the Ashanti Region last Saturday.
The 200-bed capacity hostel with state-of-the-art facilities is expected to provide decent accommodation for students in their quest to acquire tertiary education and contribute to the growth of various sectors of the nation.
“As I stand here as Minister of Education, I do not interfere with the governing council of any university and how the council supports the management of the institution,” he indicated.
He called out those governing councils that were worrying management of some universities to desist from that conduct, saying “those councils engaged in such acts do not obviously have my policy support”.
He said they expected universities to be run effectively by councils and management and stated that the ministry wanted the relationship between councils and their respective university managements to be one of a collegiate atmosphere.
He said, “We want a situation where there is respect of the governing council for management for the good of those institutions.
This will go a long way to improve the administration of universities”.
The minister commended the Chancellor of the university, Professor Paul Kofi Fynn and his likes for spearheading the establishment of private universities in the country since 1998, saying, “Where would these young people have been if they did not partner with government in the provision of higher education in Ghana?”
The Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Professor Mrs Rita Akosua Dickson, said that for many years, KNUST had mentored Wisconsin, which continues to meet standards.
She said, “As a university and as a mentoring institution, we pledge the continuous support of KNUST to Wisconsin.
We are excited to continue to be with you on this educational journey”.
She charged the students to maintain the facility and desist from defacing it, saying, “It will not be the staff maintaining this beautiful edifice, but rather the responsibility lies with you to ensure that it stands the test of time”.
In a remark, the Chief Operating Officer of the university, Jacob Kwaku Fynn, thanked all individuals who played diverse roles towards the conception and actual execution of the project for the benefit of the students.
